Running Out of Time
by Bad Wolf and Timelords
Summary: November 25, 2012. A day Bree dreaded, a day the Doctor was excited for. What are the reasons?


"Bree Bree BREE!" the Doctors' voice bounced noisily off the TARDIS corridor walls and into Bree's room. Looking up from where she sat on her desk chair, she called back to him, hearing his footsteps getting closer and closer.

"In my room Doctor!" she continued writing in her binder as she waited for the Doctor, smiling as she heard him enter the room.

"Bree," the Doctor paused breathlessly.

Smiling pleasantly as she turned around in her wheelie desk chair, and replied "Yes, we established that's who I am."

The Doctor huffed as he swaggered into the room, pausing in front of the seated girl. Tugging slightly on the end of Bree's grown out bangs, he smiled slightly. "I still don't know why you insist on that name, the dangers passed." He said, reminding her of the danger that had occurred long ago. "Your real name," he paused either for effect or was looking for the right words. "is _brilliant_." He breathed.

Ignoring this without a thought, Bree just turned back to her work and asked "So what's up?"

Behind her she could hear the Doctor bouncing up and down like an excited child. "Guess what day it is." He said.

Remaining face away from the Doctor, Bree's eyebrows rose as she continued to write. "Seriously? You want me to guess what day it is on the _TARDIS_? On a _time machine_?"

The Doctor huffed impatiently. "Well you're no fun."

Bree shrugged. "I try."

Bouncing up and down again, the Doctor quickly regained his excitement. "Just guess what today is, in your terms."

"Ummm… Sunday?" she tried, not seeing what was so special about a Sunday.

The Doctor stopped bouncing again. "You're not even trying!" he cried.

Sighing, she gave up. "Fine. What's so special about today?" she asked, not turning away from her work.

The joyous smile returned to the ageless gods' face as he blurted out his news. "It's exact one month until Christmas!"

Bree's heart stopped, her breath catching in her throat as her pen froze midair. Exactly a month until Christmas. She hadn't expected that, time was flying by so quickly they hadn't even noticed. She had known that she couldn't travel with the Doctor, as much as he, and she herself would like forever, but Bree never noticed until now that her time with the Doctor was running out. And once that time ran out, she would be back in the cursed shadows that hung over her like a large threatening storm; haunting her every moment of the day, and framing the edges of her dreams. That meant that if there was only a month left before Christmas, Bree only had one more month to travel with the Doctor; no, _less_ than a month before she had to leave him. The very idea of it made her want to crawl into a corner, fold into a ball, and cry her heart out. But she couldn't, not in front of him. So instead, she would do what she now did best: to not cry on the outside anymore. She wouldn't let him see her tears, because she knew he would eventually get out of her what she feared; and she knew that he didn't like endings. And to be honest, neither did she.

All of this she processed in a couple of seconds before she was able to turn around to look the Doctor square in the eye. Easily faking a smile with all the practice she had, she said in a false bright tone "That's great! I'm really excited to see what I get this year."

The Doctor once again started to bounce up and down, the largest grin on his face as if it was already Christmas. "Same, although it will be different this year without…" he visibly dropped as he thought about his lost friends. The way he looked now almost made Bree cry right there. He would already miss the Ponds' at Christmas, and she would be just adding to that pain if she left. Bree though, knew about the Doctor's next companion, unlike the Time Lord himself. So hopefully, that girl would be able to help somehow; but that didn't stop Bree from mentally cursing her for basically kicking her out of the TARDIS and taking her spot as the companion. But Bree couldn't blame the new girl; she wouldn't even think of the girls' name, she wasn't the only thing that was keeping Bree from travelling with the Doctor forever.

"I know I know." Bree said. Quickly thinking of a way to keep the Doctor's mind preoccupied, she suggested "Hey, do you think we could go to Barcelona now?"

At this, the Doctor instantly perked up. "The planet or the city?"

Bree rolled her eyes. "The city. Cummon you dumbo, which one do you think?"

The Doctor smiled widely again, throwing his arms around the girl in a hug of joy. "Great! Finally! You get ready while I go input the coordinates." He directed, quickly running to the door, before running back to the girl, hugging her again, then running out of the room and towards the main control room. Bree smiled weakly as she stared out into the hallway from where she still sat. Turning slightly, she turned to warily eye the current date on her calendar; silent tears starting to stream down her face.

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_**A/N: I hope this didn't come off on anyone as a story full of Bree feeling sorry for herself, which I guess she was. But nonetheless, I hope someone found it emotional! Reviews would be great and thanks for reading!**_


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